June 27, 2014

There are but a few certainties in life. Death. Taxes. Michael Bay making a summer film devoid
of an intelligible plot but packed to the gills with CGI-effects that moviegoers will either
love or loathe.

Transformers: Age of Extinction is the latest from Bay. Part 4 in the series is the first
part of a new trilogy. It adds a few new faces to the franchise including Mark Wahlberg, Stanley
Tucci and Kelsey Grammer.

The new movie is set five years after the last one. Despite a few zingers, the one-liners fall
flat. At least the audience has gunfights and explosions to fall back on.

Unfortunately for viewers,
Transformers: Age of Extinction is intolerably long, according to critic Roger Moore.

"
Age of Extinction runs on and on in this manner," Moore
said in his review. "Two hours and 45 minutes is a pretty steep price to pay for
keeping Michael Bay at bay."

June 20, 2014

Broadway and Hollywood often rely on hits from each other to pad their bottom lines, often
to great success. For every time that
South Pacific went from the stage to the big screen, a film like
The Lion King made the trip the other way.

Jersey Boys, the 2006 Tony-winner for best musical, was directed by Clint Eastwood.
It tells the story of the Four Seasons, led by lead singer Frankie Valli (John Lloyd Young). The
movie is essentially a jukebox musical, one that takes the group's greatest hits and uses them to
connect elements from the dramatic plot.

The plan to bring Jersey Boys to movie theaters hit a few roadbumps along the way with Eastwood
replacing Jon Favreau behind the camera along the way. Critic Melissa Starker pondered whether the
change led to the movie being far less fun than its Broadway predecessor.

"The trajectory that follows is familiar to anyone who has seen VH1’s
Behind the Music, but it comes with the earthy palette and aura of gravitas that Eastwood
has given to many late-career projects, including
Million Dollar Baby," Starker said in her review.

"Unfortunately, the material lacks the sense of fun that Favreau surely could have lent to
it."

Starker though the casting of
Boardwalk Empire's Vinnie Piazza as guitarist Tommy DeVito didn't work well, while
Christopher Walken playing mobster Gyp DeCarlo delivered the movie's strongest most charming
performance.

June 17, 2014

Alt-rock foursome OK Go, set to play Columbus on August 10 for
CD102.5's annual Summerfest,
today released a music video -- their first in about two years -- for
The Writing's On the Wall. The single is one of four tracks already available for
downloading from the album
Hungry Ghosts, out Oct. 14.

June 13, 2014

School is back in session, and Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum are on the beat as the humorous
law-enforcement officers masquerading as students in
22 Jump Street. This time around, they have moved on to college, but the same sophomoric
hijinks continue in the sequel loosely based on the framework of the late-80s/early-90s series that
starred Johnny Depp.

The movie is so filled with jokes that viewers might have to watch it twice, according to critic
Roger Moore. Moore recognizes
22 Jump Street as the funniest movie of the summer thus far.

The film focuses more on being a parody with running jokes, unlike the series, which was more
serious in its tone. Ice Cube is nearly flawless in his performance as Hill and
Tatum's demanding commander.

"A pack of credited writers and the co-directors of the first film — Phil Lord and Christopher
Miller of
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs — conjure up good, quick-footed and foulmouthed fun,"
Moore said in his review. "It goes on way too long, peaks too early and sputters before rallying
with a frothy finale and a closing-credits gag that kills but also goes on too long."

While hardly flawless,
22 Jump Street should still generate plenty of laughter.

June 10, 2014

The Fashion Meets Music Festival set to take over the Arena District August 29-31 features an
amenity-filled "urban camping" option for visitors who want to spend their weekend in campers, RVs
or tents.

June 06, 2014

There is a fine line between emotion and schmaltz. A little dose might bring a refreshing
element to a plot, but add too much and it leaves viewers with a bad taste in their mouth.

John Green's story
The Fault in Our Stars has all of the elements that might put your
sentimentality-for-sentimentality's-sake detector on alert. There are teenagers with cancer
dragging an oxygen tank around. There is young love set against the backdrop of an undetermined
future.

However, the movie steers clear of the sappy clichés that could bog it down and instead keeps
true to the story, according to critic Cary Darling.

The performances by Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort are strong, showing the heart of the
characters. While not all of the actors match those of the stars,
The Fault in Our Stars succeeds where many before it have failed.

"Seeing teenage relationships handled with grace and depth — instead of the usual snark and
cynicism — is refreshing," Darling
said in his review.